13 out of 13 people found the following review helpful:

shakespeare set in modern day

Rick from London, 4th December, 2006

Translating Shakespeare's comedies and tragedies to the modern day is a tricky task. The BBC has done an excellent job transforming Much Ado About Nothing to the set of a local TV magazine show, with Benedick and Beatrice as bickering anchors. In this case the transformation works neatly, as the TV studio offers numerous oppurtunities for conversations to be overheard. Also, the adaptation strays from the original story resolution, putting a modern spin on the sequence of events. Macbeth doesn't work quite so well in its respective modern setting. Not only do the producers have the task of shifting Macbeth to a restaurant, they have to be conscious that this was done just a few years back in the Christopher Walken film Scotland, PA. The biggest problem with this location shift is that one has to wonder why murder, which might seem like a realistic approach for a medeival lord, would even be considered by a chef in a restaurant. If Joe Macbeth feels that his boss Duncan Docherty is exploiting his work, why doesn't he just do what Gordon Ramsay did, namely move to another restaurant? I never quite believed that a chef would spontaneously start such a bloodbath for that kind of reason, and the insertion of a backstory motivation involving a miscarriage didn't really help things. (IIRC, Scotland, PA avoided many of these difficulties simply by cutting down on the body count.)

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4 out of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Very hit and miss

Cath from Coventry, UK, 21st February, 2006

This series transposes 4 Shakespeare plays to modern day settings, with very mixed results. By far the most successful was Much Ado About Nothing, set in a local TV news station. The script was witty, performances excellent, and the melodrama at least MAINLY believable. Damien Lewis and Sarah Parish made a good team, Billie Piper also popped up. Macbeth featured a Scottish chef and his conniving wife. The play itself is not exactly realistic, and this was just a yawn. Taming of the Shrew was just horrible! Go ahead young female politician marries a cross dressing wastrel for public acceptance. Terrible over acting all round. Didn't see the Midsummer Night's Dream.. This was a decent idea, trying to expand the interest, but Shakespeare has survived all these years because of the beautiful language, which this Retold series totally loses. Besides, Shakespeare nicked most of his plots!

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3 out of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Excellent - almost

A Customer from Wareham, England, 22nd February, 2007

Much Ado - beautifully and cleverly done. Damian Lewis's almost reptilian attractions used to perfection. I shall forever remember his 'vicious little dinosaurs.' Macbeth was almost perfect - just not quite. The characters and their relationships were not clearly enough defined, which led to some little confusion at times. Richard Armitage was wasted - we were not allowed to be sufficiently emotionally involved with him before his final act to appreciate the extent of his suspicions . It was, however, tremendously well acted and still worth while.

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2 out of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Brilliantly Done

A Customer from Horsham, 11th December, 2008

Considering that Shakespeare is becoming less and less the content of common knowledge, the BBC has done a fantastic job at taking these literary classics and regenerating them for a contemporary audience. Admittedly, it get's a little bit patronising at least once in each of them, modernised as they are, the stories can't resist making a self-reference to other Shakespeare works (I won't detail them to avoid spoilers) which comes off as a bit smug. Nevertheless, the BBC has managed to nail every aspect that Shakespeare tried to get, the farce of the comedies, the darkness of the tragedies, the depth of the characters is all done beautifully, if you have a pound of interest in Shakespeare, watch this now!

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great actors great DVD

afcghk from , 11th August, 2010

After years of hearing about Shakespeare and his plays and knowing only 2 or three i rented this dvd to find out what the plays are about. it was great, the actors are the best around, the writing is fantastic.

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Enjoyed this

A Customer from Milton Keynes, 2nd August, 2010

Enjoyed it so much - had to buy it afterwards. Accessible Shakespeare even if you not into him, undated by the BBC. Lovely job.

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Utterly Enjoyable

CharlieB131 from , 14th July, 2010

Very interesting adaptations from the original Shakespeare plays to a modern setting and situation. Best: Much Ado About Nothing - the chemistry and humour between Sarah Parrish's Beatrice and Damien Lewis's Benedick is brilliant. Worst: A Midsummer Night's Dream - The overly fantastical plot does not lend itself well to the modern day and, sadly, it shows.

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Shakespeare Retold

A Customer from kendal, 2nd February, 2010

Ah now I understand what these Shakespeare plays are about. Watched them many times - will never tire of them. Supreme.

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